Synopsis

At the height of the Cold War and the Second Red Scare, when McCarthyism and fear of nuclear holocaust is at its worst, murder draws a small Midwestern Iowa town into the craze of Soviet spy rings on US soil and government-sponsored communist witch-hunts.In one of the coldest winters on record, Jimmy Novotny is trying to deal with his own personal demons after returning home from the Korean War to Belle Plaine, Iowa, and finds himself embroiled in the investigation of several puzzling deaths. He works to solve the mystery, not just to get at the truth, but to prove himself worthy of the task – worthy of anything after the horrors he left behind in the war.

Working with him – or perhaps against him – is the beautiful redheaded reporter from Cedar Rapids, Cecilia Brom. She carries secrets of her own. And then there are others following their own agendas, each making the investigation for the truth increasingly difficult and dangerous.

The question remains, is Jimmy Novotny up to the challenge, or will the Cold War freeze him out, leaving a murderer to escape unpunished? Is there anyone he can really trust to help him get to the bottom of it before more people die?